war Hear it!

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war1 definition

war (wôr)

noun

  1. open armed conflict between countries or between factions within the same country
  2. any active hostility, contention, or struggle; conflict the war against disease
  3. Obsolete a battle
  4. military operations as a profession or science

Etymology: ME werre < NormFr < Frank *werra, confusion, strife, akin ? to OHG (fir)werran, to confuse < ?

adjective

of, used in, or resulting from war

intransitive verb warred, warring war′·ring

  1. to carry on war; engage in military conflict
  2. to be in a state of hostility or contention; contend; strive
war Idioms

at war

in a state of active armed conflict

declare war (on)

  1. to make a formal declaration of being at war (with)
  2. to announce one's hostility (to)

go to war

  1. to enter into a war
  2. to become a member of the armed forces during a war
war2 definition

war (wär)

adjective, adverb

Scot., North Eng. worse

Etymology: ME < ON verre, adj., verr, adv.; akin to OHG werran, to confuse

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms war idiom

war Synonyms

war

n.

conflict, fighting, hostilities, combat; see battle 1; fight 1.

Types of wars include: air, guerrilla, shooting, ground, sea, amphibious, three-dimensional, trench, naval, aerial, land, push-button, hot, cold, total, limited, civil, revolutionary, political, religious, preventive, world, offensive, defensive, biological, bacteriological, germ, chemical, atomic, nuclear, psychological, atomic-bacteriological-chemical, chemical-bacteriological-radiological; war of attrition, war to end all wars, war of nerves, campaign, crusade, religious, holy war, jihad, Armageddon, blitzkrieg.


war

v.

fight, battle, go to war, wage war against, make war on, engage in combat, take the field against, contend, contest, meet in conflict, march against, attack, bombard, shell, kill, shoot, murder.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

war Usage Examples

Preposition: on

  • terror: Thus an endless " war on terror " was declared in the wake of the attacks on America.

Preposition: against

  • terrorism: Thursday 8 December - A debate on the report from the Foreign Affairs Committee on foreign policy aspects of the war against terrorism.

Adjective modifier

  • civil: He added, " I know what a civil war looks like.

Converse of object

  • declare: By the time Britain declared war, people all over the country knew what to do.

Modifies a noun

  • memorial: We plan to relocate the war memorial in front of the new building.

Preposition: of

  • aggression: I'm politically poised to see this as a war of aggression on the part of the US/UK alliance and it's invisible friends.

Noun used with modifier

  • bidding: Greycoat's share price soared on hopes of a bidding war.
war usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

war quotes

If the best minds in the world had set out to find us the worst possible location in the world to fight this damnable war, politically and militarily, the unanimous choice would have been Korea. Adams

-Acheson, Dean Gooderham

It would be superfluous in me to point out to your lordship that this is war.

-Adams, Charles Francis

I am really persuaded that if we were to inquire of all the Cities which†have fallen by Siege into the Power of new Masters, who it was that subjected and overcame them, they would tell you, the Architect; and that they were strong enough to have despised the armed Enemy, but not to withstand the Shocks of the Engines, the Violence of the Machines and the Force of other Instruments of War with whichthe Architect, distressed, demolished and ruinated them.On the contrary, they would inform you that their greatest Defense lay in the Art and Assistance of the Architect.

-Alberti, Leon Battista

war quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"war." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/war>

APA Style

war. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/war

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